Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Say Hello to Zorro!

Mister Bud likes his life. He has a routine and his needs are met daily. When he wakes up, he wants to go outside. A biscuit is provided and then an obligatory walk followed by a generous nap time while his owners are away at work. Greetings at the door in the afternoon are followed by more outside time, dinner, and a movie. Life is most excellent for Mister Bud until an unwelcome surprise awaits him one day at the afternoon greeting time. A pug named Zorro comes in the door and the trouble begins. Neither dog likes to share their things and each stakes out territory on a piece of furniture. This stand-offish behavior changes when the two dogs see that they have many things in common and learn that life is (quoting Jack Johnson) better together.

Carter Goodrich expertly captures dog behavior with this buddy tale. I kept thinking about my own dog Pumpkin and her routines as I was reading Say Hello to Zorro. Dogs have a schedule and it's fascinating to me how they stick to it. The illustrations are equal parts humorous and sweet and students will be able to connect to the friendship aspect of this book. I think this book might work well at the beginning of the year when you are trying to build a community and focus on what you have in common and also how to appreciate the differences we see in each other. It would also be interesting to talk about routines that we have and what we do when they are interrupted.